Prison for Pushing Bogus Lyme Disease Cure

(CN) – A New Mexico man was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for peddling an unapproved treatment for Lyme disease that he claimed was 100 percent successful, the Department of Justice said.

Carl Emanuel Haese, 25, of Las Cruces, was convicted of wire fraud. He also was ordered to pay $164,522 in restitution and was fined $10,000. Haese ran his scheme out of the Haese Clinic of Integrative Medicine in Las Cruces, from July 2008 to April 9 2009, according to court records. “Haese claimed to have a secret protocol for the treatment of Lyme Disease that was 100 percent successful,” prosecutors said in a statement. “He also falsely claimed successfully to have treated 3,000 patients for the disease. Haese charged patients $5,000 for the treatment, which was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” During his plea hearing, Haese admitted that the treatment’s success rate was a lie. At least 21 victims have submitted verified claims for restitution. Haese is free on bond.